Careers and Passions
by burbankstorylady
Summary: One shot: As Steve struggles to pick a major at the school where he's transferring to as a junior, Harvey is also struggling to figure out a new direction in life.


"Steve, congratulations! I'm so happy for you! San Francisco State is a great school!"

The words of his first love, DJ Tanner, just kept playing in his head over and over again. They sounded sincere, because DJ was always sincere. And yet the fact that DJ was just then starting out as a freshmen at Berkeley made him feel…. Well, a lot of things, and not necessarily good things. For one thing, he felt completely alone. His best friend was going to school like 30 miles away and, considering San Francisco traffic, that may as well have been 400 miles away. For another thing, his parents had fled the city-sold their house, moved to Rancho Mirage to retire, and spend the rest of their days playing golf and sipping Mai Tais. Horribly, while his parents settled into that phase of life when there is zero pressure, his father had decided to crank up the pressure on him!

"You have to pick a major, son. Choose wisely. Figure out what your passion is and turn it into an opportunity."

"OK, dad, sounds good. I'll major in wrestling."

"Don't be stupid. Wrestling has gotten you this scholarship, but you won't be able to make a living doing that."

"I know, Dad. I was kidding."

"This is no time to joke around, Steve. Your entire future depends on how you proceed right now. Picking the wrong major could mess up your entire life. Don't forget the lesson of Cousin Oz, who majored in gender studies and is now working two minimum-wage jobs and living in Bakersfield."

"Dad, I'm not Cousin Oz."

"I hope not."

His conversations with DJ were not more productive, but at least she was more encouraging.

"What are you majoring in, Deej?"

"Oh I've decided to do a double major. Biology and History! And then I'll choose business for my minor. That way I'll have three major academic areas covered. I figure I'll keep my options open."

 _Wow_ , though Steve. _She really has everything figured out, all her bases covered._

"Biology doesn't sound too bad," he told her. "But there's no way I'm majoring his history! I'll fall asleep."

"Well, Steve, think about it. What are your interests?"

He stared at her blankly. "Really? You have to ask? Food and sports."

She laughed. "OK. So there you go. There are lots of food related and sports related majors. There's nutrition, there's sports medicine."

Steve decided to go to the Career Fair on campus. He thought it might provide some ideas, maybe even inspire him. On the ride over, on the trolley, he found himself staring at a book titled, _Ten Things Guys Do to Screw Up Their Lives_. He half seriously expected his father to be on the byline and his cousin Oz to be one of the anecdotes. The book came down to reveal a very good-looking, casually but well-dressed guy. Steve guessed they were about the same age. He wondered if the guy might also be going to the career fair and might even be in the same dilemma. "Hey," he said out loud, getting the guy's attention. "Can I ask you, is that book helpful?"

The guy shook his head, disappointed. "Not really. There are all these stories about people channeling their passions into exciting careers. But nobody tells you how to figure out what your passion is."

"Tell me about it," said Steve. "I'm on my way to a career fair right now, to try to figure out that very thing."

The guy perked up. "San Fran State? I'm going there too."

"Cool," said Steve. "Want to go together? I'm Steve, by the way."

"Harvey. Sure!"

Steve and Harvey hit it off immediately. They had a ton of things in common.

"Wrestling huh?" Harvey asked, genuinely interested. "I did football in high school."

"Where'd you go to high school?"

"Westbridge High in Massachusetts."

"Cool. What brings you to San Fran?"

Harvey shrugged. "I needed a change I guess. I was in a rut back there. There was this girl…."

Steve rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Isn't there always?"

Harvey laughed. "Yeah."

"So…. Are you a freshmen or what?"

Harvey laughed. "Let's just say, I'm a very non-traditional student. I dropped out for awhile. What about you?"

Steve sighed. "Well, I'm entering as a junior because I started out in junior college. My grades in high school kind of sucked."

Harvey laughed. "I get that. I wouldn't have been able to go to Boston College without the hockey scholarship."

Steve stared at the handsome Bostonian, his mouth open. "You were at Boston College on a hockey scholarship and you left? Why?"

Harvey didn't know what to say and Steve realized how stupid he was being. "The girl?"

Harvey nodded. "Exactly."

Walking from the metro station, Steve basically filled Harvey in on all the basics regarding local sports. They mostly talked about the Giants, being in the middle of baseball season, after it became apparent that, due to the "girl", the subject of hockey depressed Harvey.

"Of course I've thought about something in sports management," said Steve. "Or sports medicine. Or sports broadcasting."

"That would be awesome," agreed Harvey. "Have you talked to a career counselor or your advisor?"

"I have an appointment tomorrow. I'm hoping this career fair will give me more ideas. Hey, what do you say we grab some lunch before going to the fair. There's this great place nearby and I'm starving."

"Sounds great," agreed Harvey, also rather hungry and, frankly, in no hurry to walk around a career fair and feel more confused than he already was. Besides, Steve was awesome and he was looking forward to getting to know him. Both had the feeling that this was the beginning of a fruitful friendship.


End file.
